Eclevia 1
Analyssa Eclevia
Professor John Clanton
English 1A
4 November 2014
Outliers
In Outliers by Malcom Gladwell, he focuses on a lot about success and how you can achieve that. An outlier is a scientific term to describe things or phenomena that lies outside the normal experience, men and women who do things out of the ordinary. In Outliers, he gives us examples and stories about how these outliers accomplish success. Gladwell claims that you need encouragement from your family and the ones around you to gain success. He also has this 10,000-hour rule where if you practice a subject for that amount of time, that should make you an expert in that area. I, myself, agree with Gladwell that you need that extra push and the 10,000-hour from the ones around you from experience. I could say, I never really thought about what it takes to become successful. I always just had an overview that it was just that person and they did everything for them to become successful. Only until Gladwell states that it’s because the ones around you that helped you get to where you are and the 10,000-hour rule, I believe that. He talks about Bill Gates and The Beatles in Outliers and that really was an eye opener for me. I realized that they had the opportunity and that extra push from their families and friends and their background, which made their dream come true. Them and many others just had the right thing coming towards them. Malcom Gladwell, author of Outliers, states, “It’s
Eclevia 2 all but impossible to reach that number all by yourself by the time you’re a young adult. You have to have parents who encourage and support you” (42). The quote above proves my point here: I played volleyball for 7 years, played all 4 years in high school, played 4 years of club volleyball, and coached for 2 seasons. I believe that I (maybe) achieved that 10,000-hour rule and became an expert in volleyball. Now I’m not trying to brag but I was pretty good. From the moment I started playing in 6th grade, I couldn’t stop. And once I got to high school and was involved with club volleyball, I knew volleyball was my passion. Volleyball actually runs in my family. I remember watching my grandma and mom play in an adult league. Next, my older brother played all 4 years when he was in high school. So it just stuck with me. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I’d even be playing volleyball at all. They are the ones who encouraged me to try out for my middle school team. And all through out high school, my parents were my number 1 supporters. I remember my mom trying to make it to all my games, starting freshmen year till my very last game of senior year. Luckily, in Tracy, they had volleyball clubs. I tried out for one my freshmen year after high school season and made it. From there on, I knew I was in trouble. I knew I wouldn’t stop playing volleyball because I had another 3 years ahead of me.
It’s funny how I had the opportunity to play volleyball all year round, for 4 years. High school volleyball was from August to November. Club volleyball was from December to May. And during the summer, we would practice and condition for the high school season. So basically, I played all year round. I’m just so thankful for the opportunity that I had. If it wasn’t for club volleyball, I wouldn’t have been able to get all
Eclevia 3 those hours of volleyball and succeed in it. With my parents being there at all my high school games and to top it off at all my club volleyball tournaments, they are the ones who got me to where I am today. Occasionally, my family and I would drive to my older brothers games, he played in college as well. He inspired me a lot actually. When he would come home from college, we’d just